Babar Azam was dropped from Pakistan team ahead of 2nd Test against England© AFP
Coaches have changed, captains have changed, players have changed, selectors have changed, even board chairmen have changed but Pakistan cricket's problems remain the same. A fresh change in the Pakistan Cricket Board's selection committee was unrolled after the team lost the opening Test against England. Ahead of the second Test, the team management even decided to bench the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. However, England great Nasser Hussan doesn't feel these players to be blamed for Pakistan team's current crisis.
"The issue is not Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, or Naseem Shah," Hussain said on Sky Cricket. "The issue is behind the scenes in the way Pakistan cricket runs."
Hussain, in a chat with Michael Atherton, further highlighted how Pakistan have used 26 different selectors for the senior men's national team. The selection committee isn't the only body that has undergone significant changes the last few years.
For Hussain, no sport or business can be run effectively if it undergoes so many changes on a regular basis. The Pakistan team, hence, only have themselves to blame for the mess they are in.
"In the paper, I saw there were 26 different selectors; in another, it said 27. Nobody can keep count. How many have England had? Two or three, maybe. But if you keep changing selectors, coaches, captains-constantly shuffling leadership-it's impossible to plan ahead. No successful business or sports team works that way. When you operate with short-term thinking, you show up unprepared, and by the time you lose the first Test, you're already scrambling for solutions," he further added
"Their cricket and some of it, you give them a bit of leeway because of the way the finances of the world game have gone with the big three, and they're picking up the scraps like other nations are. So I really feel for Pakistan cricket and we mustn't be too harsh on them, but at times, they shoot themselves in the foot," Hussain remarked.
Even Pakistan cricket great Wasim Akram reacted to the comments made by Hussain, saying he and Atherton are onto something.
I think finally boys are on too something here https://t.co/AbKlRYXnL4
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) October 14, 2024
Pakistan would hope to produce a change in their fortunes as they take on England in the second Test without Babar, Shaheen and Naseem.